Nib Repair

I purchased a Must de Cartier f.p. off ebay. The overall condition was not as good as hoped but probably would have been acceptable apart from the nib which is slightly bent at the very tip.

Is it worth getting the nib fixed or should I return it to the seller? The seller has agreed to accept the return of the pen or indeed pay for a new nib. [although I have since pointed that this would be too expensive]

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I purchased a Must de Cartier f.p. off ebay. The overall condition was not as good as hoped but probably would have been acceptable apart from the nib which is slightly bent at the very tip.

Is it worth getting the nib fixed or should I return it to the seller? The seller has agreed to accept the return of the pen or indeed pay for a new nib. [although I have since pointed that this would be too expensive]

Views/recommendations appreciated.

The bend is quite slight. If you were to take it to John S (Oxonian) at the London Pen show on Sat 6th October he may be able to fix it. (I'm only guessing though, but he is a nib expert).

The nib is fine. If you look at the nib itself you'll see that from the feed out it's quite straight. It's certainly straighter than many Sheaffer nibs that often had an upturn at the end of the nib so that it wrote more smoothly.

The curve is the grind of the tipping material, and you do want a radius to the iridium so that the nib will write smoothly. That radius is where the nib contacts the paper. Bend it down at all and you'll be writing on, or close to, the very tip. Now I don't like the look of the very point of the iridium, but it's not uncommon on a nib.

So straighten, I don't know that it's needed or desired. Reshape a bit, maybe. It depends on how it feels when you write.

Don't know about the upturned tip, but take the word of the more experienced posters (above). However, it looks, to me, that both the nib and feed are at an angle to the section, as opposed to being in line with it?

Not familiar with this model, so maybe that's how it's meant to be? Or could be the angle of the photograph or trick of the light etc etc...

As mentioned earlier, how it writes is the most important thing. Hope it works out for you.

In my opinion this is typical of a modern nib. I see a lot of nibs, and see this quite often.

Look at the line of the top of the nib from the section to the end of the feed, actually to just before the iridium starts - straight line.Look at the underside of the nib from the end of the feed to the iridium - straight line.

The nib is not bent, i.e. damaged or defective.

Look at the iridium. The area that contacts the paper is rounded deliberately so that it doesn't catch on the paper. If the end of the nib were turned down the contact area would move forward. You would be writing in a smaller area, closer to or on the chisel shaped point on top, and it may not be pleasant. But by giving the nib a sight upturn just behind the iridium AND providing a wide curve in the contact area, you get a wider line and smoother writing, though I suspect that the nib would tend to catch on the upstroke of you "scrub" as you write. Some people do.

I had a close examination before raising the topic and to me the the nib seemed slightly curved towards the tip. Unfortunately I do not have another pen of the same model to compare it with - the best I could come up with was the photo taken below from an ebay listing.

Looking at line of the nib - at the top, just prior to the tipping, there is a definite upturn. My impression was that it was not part of the nib design - as with some Sheaffer pens. However, I am happy to be corrected.

Where the nib is narrowest, just before the tipping, is probably the weakest point and I have observed various other pens which have suffered damage here - sometimes relative minor but others where the tip has been at right angles!

I have dipped the pen in ink and it does write with a pleasing smooth line so yes, I think I will keep the pen - particularly as the general opinion of those kind enough to contribute have concluded that there is no damage. [Just need to see if I can find a Cartier converter.]

Some possibilities are1. This is how the nib was originally made.2. The nib was originally straight but suffered damage at some point. The current shape is the result of repair.3. The nib was originally straight, but the owner wanted a turned-up nib, and somebody made it happen.

Regardless, as you have verified by testing the pen, the tipping appears to be ground for the way the nib is currently shaped.

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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